The Hero(ine) of Wind
by hoyteca
Summary: Alternative title: Unforeseen Consequences Link learns why you need to be extra careful when using the Command Melody. Medli x Komali
1. The Incident

It started with a simple mission: rescue Aryll. Things got more complicated as soon as he stepped foot on that pirate ship. Now he was deep in yet another dungeon trying to awaken an ancient magical sword and "awaken" the first of two sages so that his magic sword can defeat a really old man. If his mission became any more complicated, Link would scream.

Link banished those thoughts from his mind. For the sake of his sanity, Link decided to focus purely on the task at hand. Unlike the dungeons from the game he played back at Outset, these dungeons took days to complete. This dungeon alone took a full week so far. They had to set up camp just outside the temple. Although enemies routinely reentered previously cleared rooms, the puzzles fortunately chose to stay solved. Each venture inside the temple required a careful balance between rest and progress and the balance became more important the deeper they got inside the temple.

Just one more puzzle. Link knew both he and Medli were getting exhausted, but there was no time to rest. They were so close to the boss and so far from the exit. To go back now meant trekking through miles of corridors likely repopulated with various enemies by now. To continue meant risking failure, and death, but also promised the reward of a quick teleportation outside.

Link took command of Medli and had her fly to a switch. His exhaustion was now compounded by hers and was now literally draining the life from him. By the time she reached the switch, he was down to his last quarter heart with no potions, soup, or fairies in stock. He barely had enough time to have her step on the oversized button before an enemy snuck up behind his vulnerable body.

With a quick swipe of a blade, the lone blin took away Link's last quarter heart. His body crumpled to the ground. With that, the invisible link between the Hylian and the Rito was severed.

And yet, Link lived. While his body lay collapsed before the celebrating swine, he still had control of the young Rito girl.

Link tried to relinquish control, unaware of what happened. After a few minutes of failed attempts, Link collapsed. He laid there, letting the strength slowly return to the avian body. After what felt like hours, Link flew to his body. By now, the blin had left with Link's Hylian head as a trophy.

"Now what?" Medli thought, trying to regain some control of her body. Link simply took the equipment from the corpse and continued toward the boss room.

"I guess you're right." Medli sighed, "We have a job to do."

The boss itself wasn't hard. Shine light on it, toss it into the spikes, slay as many of its mini-form as possible, and repeat. It wasn't as hard as that Ghoma thing or even that giant flower. As soon as Link grabbed the heart piece, they had time to focus on their current problem.

"This is bad." Medli thought, "I need to stay here, but you still need to awaken the other sage."

Link simply entered the glowy circle and teleported out of the dungeon. Medli mistook it as a sign of his determination, but Link simply wanted to get out of that temple as soon as possible. Who builds temples like that? A simple structure, a big room and a few others would have sufficed. Why the maze? Why the deathtraps? Who does that? It just makes it harder for people to do temple things inside it.

"What now?" Medli asked, "We need to find a replacement to pray inside the temple."

Link let out a scream of frustration. He still had to take the other sage through the next temple and Ganondorf probably had some complicated dungeon of his own. Link shuddered at the idea of going through that dungeon again, escorting another defenseless idiot past countless blins, poes, redeads, and those stupid hand things.

"I am not an idiot." Medli protested, "You have how many weapons and you couldn't hand me one?"

Link ignored her as he walked toward the King of Red Lions.

"How are we going to fix this?"

Link didn't want to think about it at the moment.

"Where's Link?" the King of Red Lions asked, "You know you're not supposed to leave until after Ganondorf was defeated."

Regaining some control of her body, Medli showed him the back of her hand. The Triforce of Courage, bound to Link's spirit and not his flesh, was plainly visible.

"I don't understand. How did you acquire it?"

"Link's gamble didn't pay off." Medli explained, "Tried to control me with just one quarter heart left. One lucky blin later and Link doesn't have a body of his own to return to."

Link tried to regain control of her body, but Medli refused. He was growing frustrated. He was the hero, after all. He had a job to do.

"You may be the hero, but it's my body." Medli told him mentally, "You could have crippled me flying so recklessly."

All he needed was practice. A few days of getting used to this body and he'd fly as good as any bird.

"No." Medli chastised mentally, "You may not realize it, but I have hollow bones. They're built for flight, not durability. You'd get us killed."

Link knew he'd be careful. Besides, he had a job to do.

"Your job can wait." Medli told him, "Besides, how much damage can he do without the triforce? His girl-snatching bird is dead, right? Right?"

Link wanted to tell someone… after he had defeated Ganondorf and would be leaving to look for uncharted lands.

"Tell me what? Did you leave that flying beast alive after you had a chance to finish it off?"

It was a long and tough battle and Link just wanted to finish off Ganondorf. It appeared to explode, though that was just its feathers. It had apparently flown off after eating the monsters in the Forsaken fortress.

"Why am I not surprised?" Medli sighed, "The history of the heroes is filled with cut corners. That's why I'm not tackling any more dungeons until I have my combat skills up to adequate levels."

Link tried desperately to regain control. He made it all the way to this temple without flying. As far as he knew, he didn't need that skill anymore.

"You can't fight like you used to." Medli scolded, "Hollow bones, remember? Besides, this body seems to remember whose body it really is."

Link's frustration was growing. All he cared about now was regaining control and making Medli pay.

Medli ignored him as she climbed onto the boat. She figured Link wouldn't mind her using it. After all, it was more durable than her bones. What's the worst she could do to it that that green-clad idiot wouldn't accidentally do to her? She set sail for Dragon Roost Island. Until she was ready to take on that next dungeon, she was going to live her life. And Link was in for a treat soon. She was going to learn about her changing body and Link has no choice but to see and hear every detail.


	2. Komali Joins the Story

Medli stared at Komali as he practiced his Rito martial art forms. She enjoyed the way his body moved so gracefully, as if he were dancing with an invisible partner. She ignored Link's inquiries concerning her behavior. He'd understand if his body had undergone the changes hers and Komali's had.

"I'm so glad you're back." Komali told her as soon as his forms were done, "What's with the markings on your hand?"

"I'll explain later." she assured him as she slid her hands into her pockets, "Right now I just want to enjoy your company."

"Yeah?"

Link wished that blin or whatever had killed him instead of just trapping him in this accursed body. The seemingly endless flow of hormones was driving him crazy.

Link didn't understand why Medli and Komali were acting so strange. Link attributed it to something birds did. Medli attributed his lack of understanding to Link not growing up around girls around his own age, with the exception of his sister.

"What's Link up to?" Komali asked as they went to get something to eat.

"You wouldn't believe me even if you watched the whole thing." Medli told him.

"Does it have anything to do with the markings on your hand?" he inquired, "I think Link had something similar on his."

"Kinda. It's also related to something I have to ask Valoo about but that can wait."

"You can tell me what happened." Komali assured her, "You've never lied to me about anything before."

"There's a song that allows the musician to temporarily control another person, assuming the instrument was magic." Medli explained, "Well, let's just say Link learned the hard way the dangers of that song."

"So, he played a dangerous song with a magic instrument?"

"There's a little more to the story, but that's the short version."

Komali's face was visibly saddened. Link visited frequently, mostly to make a little money sorting mail and to look for a golden Tingle statue in Dragon Roost Cavern. Komali had no doubt Tingle was making Link look.

And now a dangerous magic song thing did something bad to Link. The only explanation Komali could think of was Link was either seriously injured or dead. It wasn't a fate too unexpected for a kid that ran into a dangerous volcano without a Rito's natural agility or tools.

And here Medli is, delivering this bad news while putting on a brave face for his sake. His feelings for the Rito girl grew into what felt like much more than a mere crush.

Link wanted Medli to tell the whole story and to focus on his being stuck in her body. Link hoped it would convince Komali to, in the words of the adults, "keep his pants on". Link didn't know exactly what that phrase meant (love makes you moon people? Does it make you really have to use the restroom?), but he got the very general idea.

Medli mentally reminded Link that it was her body and he wouldn't see anything he normally wouldn't see at that age… from the other viewpoint. Besides, it was Komali. Link was known to occasionally complain that his "job" kept him from hanging with his friend more.

"Have you told anyone else about Link's…"

"Just his talking boat." Medli told him.

"Where is he?"

"Most of his body is still in the Earth Temple." Medli explained, "It was too dangerous to try to take his body out by myself."

Komali's worst fears were confirmed. At least he still had Medli.

Medli herself was beginning to question just what had happened in the Earth Temple. Was he really trapped in her body or was it just her imagination? After all, how did that song work anyway? Was he actually in her body or merely controlling it from afar? And was the Triforce of Courage still connected to him or was she made the new host?

Medli gave her devastated boyfriend a hug. He would mourn and she would try to solve the whole hero/sage dilemma. There had to be a replacement sage or hero somewhere.

"Even if it's too dangerous to retrieve his body, he needs a funeral." Komali told her. Medli agreed. She didn't want to retrieve his body after the way Link acted since then, trying to regain control of her body. And it was his fault.

Link protested, but Medli ignored him. Right now, Komali needed her. Medli was tempted to get an exorcism but figured Link could prove useful. After a few moments of silence, the Rito pair separated. Medli returned to her room to think while Komali left to deliver the bad news to his father.

Medli looked at Link's items as they hung in her closet. She took a few thousand rupees from his wallet and poured them into her pocket. She planned to fly somewhere to buy some light armor. Maybe she'd visit a library to research sages or heroes. Tomorrow. Or next week. Next month perhaps? She wasn't looking forward to it.

Link pleaded with her to get going. There was another sage to awaken.

"You shut up or you're getting exorcized." Medli warned, "I'm not letting your recklessness endanger this body too."

Link protested again.

"If I find a way to get you your own body, you will get your own body. Until then, shut up and get used to the idea of not having control of this body."

Link practically screamed in frustration. If she were the one trapped in his body, would she be so quick to follow the "my body, my control" rule? Probably not. He was the holder of the Triforce of Courage. He was the wielder of the Master Sword. He was the savior of the flooded remnants of Hyrule. Everyone depended on him. How can she expect him to "sit back" when there was still so much to do and only he knew how to finish the mission?

With great concentration, Medli shut him up. Possibly for good. For a mute, he was such a loud whiner. Savior, her butt. It's a miracle his recklessness didn't get him killed long ago.

Medli needed him out of her body before he regains control and gets her body killed too. Besides, how hard can being the hero of whatever be? Link made it this far and he's a bigger danger to himself than others. The puzzles she saw weren't that hard and fighting that boss was surprisingly easy for a body unaccustomed to combat. The Great Sea didn't need Link, she determined. She could do it. She was a better planner than Link and she had the Triforce of Courage. All she needed was a replacement sage.

Medli's thoughts were interrupted by a knock on the door. Opening the door, she found Komali waiting for her.

"Take me to the body." he told her, "It wouldn't be right to just leave it there."

Medli nodded. She hoped Link's spirit was just a hallucination brought on my grief and that giving the body a proper burial would be enough to shut the Link hallucination up.

Link reminded her that he was real and that he would finish his job as soon as he regained control. A hero isn't content with just watching, after all.

Medli wondered about mind-altering potions. Surely there was a potion that would shut him up for good. Then she could focus on fixing this mess his recklessness caused.

"When do you want to leave?" Medli asked.

"My father agreed to let us leave tomorrow with a few guards. Right now, they're gathering supplies. Outset's already been alerted."

Medli nodded. Komali gave her a hug and left.

"I know. I know." Medli told Link, "But there's a limit to what they'll believe. They'd buy the idea of a dangerous magic song. They've seen you play the Song of Passing. But the idea of you being trapped in my body? Even I'm doubting it."

Link grew angrier.

"Do you really believe they wouldn't just declare it a hallucination brought on by stress, grief, and guilt? I'll find you a new body… or get you exorcised."

Link scoffed.

"I'm not kidding." Medli warned, "You're proving to be a huge threat to my life as well as to your mission. It would be healthier for the two of us if you would just go on to the next life."

Link reminded her that sages had the responsibility of helping the chosen hero of Hyrule, as chosen by the Triforce of Courage.

"You're right. I am a sage. I'm also the current wielder of the Triforce of Courage and have received wisdom from Valoo. If I determine it's in your best interest to leave this life for the next, that's what you'll do. It's not murder if your body is already long dead."

Link was growing increasingly shocked by Medli's change in personality.

"What change in personality?" Medli asked, "You've barely known me for a few months and only recently have you demonstrated to me just how reckless you are."

Link grumbled.

"I'm telling you as a friend you need to calm down and let me clean up this mess you made." Medli warned, "As a sage, I'm telling you, you might need to leave this realm if we can't find a new body. Not having a body is having a strange effect on your personality. It's not healthy."

Link reminded her about the danger Ganondorf posed right now.

"Haven't you learned anything." Medli asked, "You need to learn to plan ahead and weigh your options. If you did that in the Earth Temple instead of trying to rush it, you'd still have a body."

Link complained, but Medli ignored him. She really needed him gone.

Leaving her room, Medli found Komali eating a crab.

"Thanks for everything." she told him.

"What were you two doing in that temple in the first place?" Komali asked.

"Fought some monsters; solved some puzzles." she answered, "All I know is a bad guy needs to be stopped."

"That sounds like Link." Komali admitted.

"I was supposed to stay as the temple's sage, but Link's death presents a problem that needs to be solved first."

The pair stood there in silence, contemplating the immediate future. Komali knew Medli had a job to do. He didn't know what, exactly, it was but he knew it was dangerous. He also knew she'd be more careful than Link, but he still wouldn't let her do it alone.

Medli's gut told her Komali wasn't going to stay home after Link's funeral. She could see it in his eyes. He had grown increasingly braver after Link defeated Ghoma.

"I can't let you finish whatever you and Link started alone." he finally told her.

"Komali…"

"If it got Link killed, it's too dangerous to do alone."

"Komali, please…"

"I can't lose you like we lost Link."

Medli was flattered and nervous. He obviously loved her enough to risk his life, but that was the problem.

"I don't even know what I'm going to do anymore." she finally admitted, "I can't fill both of the jobs required and you can't do either one."

"But I can protect you." he told her, "Your job, whatever it is now, is too important. You're too important. We can get a new future chief faster than we can get a new attendant for Valoo."

Medli knew he was right, but she also knew he was more likely to get himself killed than she was.

"How good are you at fighting?"

"I'm pretty good with a bow." he told her. That was fairly obvious to her. The average Rito's eyesight and unique upper body structure made them ideal archers. They could learn to use a bow much faster than any other known Hyrulean race.

"Just promise me you'll be careful. Promise me you won't let impatience jeopardize your life. Promise me you won't get yourself killed trying to protect me."

"I promise."

"I mean it." Medli warned, "One funeral is enough. If I even get the vaguest suspicion you're going to do something stupid, I'm going to drag you home and I'm going to make sure you stay home."

"I promise I won't get myself killed." Komali assured her.

"I'm serious. We're going to do everything my way. You're going to listen to me. You're going to stick to the plan. You're not going to repeat Link's mistake."

Link laughed. The way Komali was treating Medli like a drill instructor. Komali was training to be a Rito leader and he was taking orders from a mere attendant.

This hardened Medli's resolve to get him out of her body using any means necessary. He was trying to control her body ever since he got himself killed and now he was insulting both her and Komali. She needed to punish Link and she knew just the way.

"You're brave." she told Komali, "That's one of the things I love about you. You're brave, but you're not reckless. I know you'd rather take your time and plan your battles rather than just rushing in. I know I'm not going to lose you."

"And I'm not going to lose you either." he told her. They stared deeply into each other's eyes before moving in for the kiss.

Link hated every second of their kiss. He tried to scream his frustration, but Medli was too preoccupied. To his horror, their mouths opened. Their tongues invaded each other's mouth. Link could taste the crab Komali ate. Link hated crab.

"Medli…" Komali began, unable to finish his sentence.

"I love you." Medli told him.

"I love you too."


End file.
